There's No Place Like Home
by Brandon
Summary: Post ep for "Never Again". Brandon didn't like "Never Again". You have been warned.


TITLE: There's No Place Like Home 

AUTHOR: Brandon D. Ray 

EMAIL ADDRESS: publius@avalon.net 

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: Anywhere and everywhere, so long as my name stays on it and no money changes hands. 

FEEDBACK: Go ahead; knock yourself out. 

Ephemeral: *FEEDBACK*publius@avalon.net 

SPOILER STATEMENT: Never Again; Leonard Betts (a little); Triangle (maybe) 

RATING: PG-13, for language (the "f" word, among others) 

CONTENT STATEMENT: M/S UST; should be safe for Shippers and Noromos alike. Also, if you like "Never Again" you probably WILL NOT like this story. This one has a bit of a bite to it, friends; you have been warned. 

CLASSIFICATION: VAH 

SUMMARY: Post-ep for "Never Again". 

DEDICATION: For Stacey. She knows why.... ;) And many thanks to Shannon O'Connor, for helping me parse the aforementioned "f" word and work in the "c" word.... 

DISCLAIMER: In my dreams...   


There's No Place Like Home 

by Brandon D. Ray   


The first thing Dana Scully became aware of was the pain. Not an acute, localized pain, but a dull ache that permeated her body, distracting her and making it difficult to think. 

The second thing she became aware of was the fuzzy, unfocused feeling that told her she was on narcotics. She wondered woozily how much more she would be hurting if it weren't for the medications, but before long the thought had drifted away. 

The third thing she became aware of was a presence in the room: She heard the sounds of someone breathing, and every few minutes papers crinkled, as if a page had been turned in a book or magazine. And then she heard a sharp, snapping sound that could only be a sunflower seed being cracked open, and she smiled. Mulder. 

She opened her eyes, and sure enough, there he was, sitting at her bedside reading what she quickly identified as the latest edition of the Lone Gunman. Her smile widened at the familiar, cozy image, and for just a moment she basked in the opportunity to observe him without his knowledge. It was not something she got to do very often, which made her treasure such moments all the more. 

Something must have alerted him that she was awake, because he suddenly looked up from the tabloid and locked eyes with her. 

It occurred to Scully to wonder how she'd gotten injured in the first place. She tried to concentrate, but the painkillers which were no doubt dripping down that tube and into her arm were making it next to impossible. She'd been on a case...a case in another city...on her own...Philadelphia.... 

Then suddenly everything came flooding back. She remembered it all: The horrible fight with Mulder; the burning resentment as she pursued a will-o'-the-wisp while he went chasing off to Graceland; the grungy, rundown tattoo parlor; the cheap hustler who took her out and got her drunk.... 

She felt a chill race down her spine. Jesus. Had she actually gone back to his apartment with him? Had she actually slept with him? Dear God, what had she done? 

She realized that her eyes had drifted shut, and now she forced them open again. Mulder was looking down at her, but in place of the anger and disdain she expected to see there was nothing but caring and concern in his eyes. 

"Scully? Are you okay?" 

She tried to find something to say; even "I'm fine" would do as a placekeeper, at least for the moment. But all she could think of was to ask about the man she had slept with, and who had subsequently tried to stuff her into an incinerator. She knew it wasn't the best possible topic to take up with her partner, but it was all her drug-fogged brain could focus on at the moment. Besides, she rationalized, if she had at least made an arrest that would be SOME justification for her bizarre behavior. 

"M-mulder? Did they...did you...did I...catch him?" 

Mulder's lips compressed and he shook his head. "No. No, he got away. I'm sorry, Scully. I was so worried about you that I didn't manage to get the license number. I'm sorry," he repeated, reaching out and taking one of her hands in both of his. 

"License number?" 

He didn't seem to hear her. "God, I'm sorry, Scully. The whole thing was my fault. If I hadn't been so self-absorbed we never would have had that terrible fight, and you wouldn't have wound up running in front of that car...." His voice trailed off, and he visibly swallowed. "I'm sorry." 

"Mulder, what are you talking about?" Scully had thought she was confused before, but now she was doubly so. "Are you saying I was hit by a car?" She shook her head, and a name came floating up out of the darkness. "What about...what about Ed Jerse?" 

Now it was Mulder's turn to look puzzled. "Ed Jerse?" Then he seemed to make the connection. "You mean Dr. Jerse?" 

Scully felt her eyes widen. "DOCTOR Jerse?" 

"Yeah," Mulder said. "Dr. Edward Jerse. He's the resident in charge of your case. Nice guy, too. Nice family -- his wife, Betty, and their little girl, Jodie, were here this morning." His lips compressed again. "Actually, he's your SECOND doctor. The first one -- an asshole named Morgan -- turned out to be a Consortium mole. Luckily Byers caught him with a background check, but not before he'd pumped you full of hallucinogens." His face softened and he squeezed her hand gently. "It was touch and go for awhile." 

Silence descended on the room again, and Scully tried desperately to get her thoughts in order. Her memories of what had happened were so sharp and vivid, yet Mulder seemed to know nothing about them. How could that be? 

She raised her eyes and looked at her partner again. "Mulder? This car accident? This was...this was after I got back from Philadelphia, right?" 

His brow furrowed in apparent confusion. "Philadelphia?" He shook his head. "Scully, you didn't go to Philadelphia. That's what the fight was about -- don't you remember? I tried to browbeat you into following up on a lead for me, and you wouldn't do it." He hung his head. "I'm afraid I said some pretty nasty things." And for what seemed like the hundredth time since she'd awakened, he said, "I'm sorry." 

Scully shook her head sharply. "No, Mulder. No, that's not how it happened! I DID go to Philadelphia. I DID followup on the lead. It was...it was a hoax, just as I suspected. But then...." She let her voice trail off; she REALLY didn't want to go into this with him. 

But apparently she had no choice. "Scully? What do you think happened that caused you to wind up like this?" 

She sighed. "I...I'm not sure. I thought I knew, but --" She looked into his eyes again, and somehow that gave her the strength to continue. "I was really angry with you. I mean, really, REALLY angry. I felt as if you'd been treating me as, as an underling, and I was sick of it." 

"There's more than a grain of truth in that," Mulder commented quietly. 

His admission momentarily flustered her, but somehow she was able to shake it off, despite the drugs coursing through her veins. "Anyway," she went on," I was really angry. I wrapped up the case in a few hours, and I wound up in this grubby little tattoo parlor. And that's where I met Ed Jerse." 

Mulder's eyebrows shot up. "You met Dr. Jerse in a tattoo parlor?" 

"Yes!" she insisted. "But he wasn't a doctor -- he ISN'T a doctor. He's a telemarketer. And he had just gotten a tattoo, and it looked...exciting. And we went for a few drinks, and the more I drank the more exciting it seemed. And I wound up getting one, too, and then...and then...we went back to his place and ..." She forced herself to look her partner in the eye. "I fucked him, Mulder. We didn't even make it to the bed -- I fucked him right there on the floor." 

Mulder was shaking his head. "Scully, none of that happened. Trust me. You've been right here in this bed in D.C. General for the last three days -- ever since the fight and the accident. It just didn't happen." 

Scully felt on the verge of tears. "Then why do I remember it so clearly?" she demanded. 

Mulder shrugged. "It must be the drugs," he said. "The hallucinogens that son of a bitch Morgan gave you. It's the only explanation that makes any sense." He squeezed her hand again. "Think about it, Scully. Can you REALLY see yourself doing those things? Because *I* sure can't. Getting a tattoo? Okay, maybe. But picking up a stranger and having a one night stand? Get real. That would be so completely out of character for you that I can't even think of a good comparison for it. It would be as if...as if...as if Alex Krycek were suddenly to turn over a new leaf and starting fighting for Truth, Justice and the American way!" 

That made her laugh, and that broke the tension, and for a moment or two she and Mulder simply laughed together. It felt good to laugh; she hadn't laughed in much too long. She really ought to do it more often. 

"Tell you what, Scully," her partner said as the chuckles finally died down. "You ever decide you DO want a tattoo, give me a holler and we'll go get one together, okay? We need to spend more time social time together relaxing, anyway -- the stress is getting to both of us. 

He gave her hand one more squeeze and released it, then stood up. "And now I've got to go. Skinner's been on my ass to finished the paperwork from the Betts case." 

Scully felt a flash of apprehension at the reference and opened her mouth to say something to Mulder about her suspicions...but stopped. No, she'd talk to her doctors first to find out if was true. 

God, please don't let it be true.... 

"Besides," Mulder went on, "I want to be there when they deliver your new desk. And before you say anything, I know it wasn't about the desk. But it seems like a good place to start." 

Scully felt a surge of warmth and affection at his words. He really was trying; he really was. It had been such a stupid fight in the first place; she couldn't believe she'd allowed herself to get carried away like that. Especially considering how much she -- 

"Mulder, I love you." 

For just an instant Mulder's expression froze, and she thought she saw something deep in his eyes that she'd never seen before. But then it was gone again so quickly she couldn't really be sure it had been there at all, and Mulder rolled his eyes slightly and said, "Oh, brother." He leaned down and lightly kissed the crown of her head, and in another moment he was gone. 

But he'd be back. She was sure of it.   
  


Fini 


End file.
